Earth boring tool



Jan. 15, 1935. A. F. SPENGLER 1,988,023

EARTH BORING TOOL Original Filed Dec. 9, 1950 .Egi

1mm WC E llllll Patented Jan. 15, 1935 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EARTH BORING TOOL Arthur F. Spengler, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Application December 9, 1930, Serial No. 501,010

Renewed June 5, 1934' 3 Claims. (01. 255- 71) My invention relates to earth boring tools and reamer carrier assembly which is particularly has particular reference to a rock bit and reamer adapted to a built-up construction.

assembly for drilling holes such as for oil wells. My invention will be described with reference In drilling a bore into the earth the penetrato the accompanying drawing, wherein 6 tion of the various strata of the earth met in the Figure 1 is an elevational View, partly in sec course of the bore requires the employment of a tion, of the reamer carrier and rock bit assembly; hard surfacedbit formaking the initial penetra- Figure 2 is a composite sectional view through tion which should be followed by a reamer which the reamer carrier illustrating the mounting of reams out the hole made by the bit to the proper the rotatable reamers on the reamer body, the

desired diameter. The boring operation requires sections illustrated being taken along the lines; 1.0;

the transmission of a flushing fluid to the faces 2a--2a, 2b2b and 2c-2c, respectively; of the bit to wash the detritus out of the bore and Figure 3 is a detail view of the construction to clean the bit. Also a lubricating fluid is reof the shaft which mounts the rotatable reamers; quired to be supplied to the bit to assist in boring and; l through particularly hard or abrasive strata. Figure 4 is an end view of the rock bit con- 15;

To provide a tool which is sufficiently rigid to struction which I propose to use showing the cone properly support a bit and to transmit the power cutters removed. i required to rotate the bit during the drilling Referring to the drawing, I have illustrated :operation requires a relatively heavy construcat 1 a cylindrical'body member comprising an tion of the bit carrier while at the same time the elongated cylinder having a central opening 2 20; passages which are required to allow the lubriextending longitudinally therethrough. The eating and flushing fluids to pass limits the size upper end of the central opening is preferably of the construction of the bit carrier. provided with an enlarged threaded portion 3 to ,It 'is an object of my invention toprovide a adapt the same to securing the body member to bitcarrier assembly which will provide ample a drill'string or other power appliance, whereby 26 space for the passage of flushing and lubricating the body member 1 may be rotated. I w fluids and for the location of reamers in the sides Spaced around the circumference of the cylinof the bit carrier without sacrificing the rigidity drical body member 1 I have illustrated three of the carrier which is required for transmitting reamer pockets 4, 5 and 6 which may be formed 0' power to the bit. by milling slots into the side of the body member r j Another object of my invention is to provide ay 1 to communicate with the central passage or reamer'and rock bit assembly in which a plurality opening 2. Into each of the pockets thus formed of reamers are set into pockets formed in the sides may be inserted a pair of reamer bearing blocks of the bit carrier and which is provided with an 7 and 8 at the upper and lowerends of the pockets, to interior opening through which flushing and respectiv ly- T es blocks may be r a n n, lubricating fluidsmay pass. the body member 1 in any suitable manner, such Another object of my invention is to provide a as by welding, illustrated at 9 a h pp rock t and reamer assembly in which a plurality reamer block '7 has extending longitudinally thereof rotatable reamers are set into pockets formed through suitable Opening threaded at its in the walls of the reamer carrier and through upper portion 12 reFeive areamer Shift t the interior of which carrier conduits for flushupper end of wmch may be pyovlded with ing and lubricating fluids may be passed to conthreads engagmg g threaded g g? g block '7. The sat 13'preeray exens :Zggg with the rock but Secured to the throughout substantially the entire length of the 451 reamer pocket 4 to engage an opening 15in the Another object of my invention is to provide a lower block W hlt ahsemhly of the typeih which the Referring particularly to Figure 3, it will be ob 9 carrlerois divided longitudinally o two served that the lower" end of the shaft 13 is procomplementary sections, each of which is providvided with a m m of 1ot 16 extending 50. ed t i w passages for lubricating fluids laterally therethrough for the purpose of receivflushing ing an anchoring pin. 1'7 to prevent rotational Ano h r o j t f my inv i n is to pr vi e a movement of the shaft 13 after the same has been reamer carrier assembly which may be readily secured in position. I assembled. It will be observed that the main body of tht "A other object of y nve ti n s o pr vide a shaft ,13 is eccentric with the ends thereof so that 55 by withdrawing the pin 17 and rotating the shaft 13 the body thereof may be moved laterally relative to the center line of the reamer proper. Thus, reamers mounted upon the body may be adjusted inwardly and outwardly of the body to determine the dimensions of the reamer cut.

Surrounding the shaft 13 I have illustrated a rotatable reame'r 18 of a construction familiar to those skilled in the-earth boring art. In order to prevent excessive wear of the bearing blocks '7 and 8 suitable hardened steel washers l9 and 20 may be interposed between the ends of the reamer 18 and the bearing blocks 8 and '7, respectively. If the washers 19 and 20 were permitted to rotate they would still perform their functions as reducing wear. I prefer to prevent them from rotating by inserting through the washers suitable dowel pins 21 receivable in aligned openings in the face of the bearing blocks '7 and 8, respectively.

The inner side of the bearing pockets 4.5 and 6 which communicates with the interior passage 2 through the body-l should be sealed from such communication to permit the interior passage to be utilized as a conduit for water or other flushing fluid which may be desired to be supplied to the bit carried by the reamer assembly. For this reason I have illustrated the inner side of each of thepockets 4, 5 and Gas being sealed off from the interior passage 2 by means of a plate 22 which may be welded or otherwise suitably secured to the associated pocket.

By referring particularly to Figure 2' it will be observed that the construction thus far described provides a reamer assembly in which the cyllndrical body member 1 presents an interior passage 2 therethrough which, at the point of passing the reamer pockets, is substantially triangular in" configuration. It will be observed that a conduit 23 for lubricating fluid may be passed through this triangular opening; of such size as to lie tangent to the plates 22; thus providing three spaces 24, 25 and 26 between the pockets for the passage of suitable flushing fluid to the rock bit.

Referring again to Figure 1, I have illustrated the lower end of the body member 1 as being provided' with an enlarged interior opening 27' communicating with the interior opening 2 and being provided with internal threads 28 of such configuration as to engage the threaded head 29 oi'a rock bit 30.

I have illustrated the rock bit 30 as being of the cone cutter type in which the bit 30 is divided longitudinally along its center line 31 to form two complementary halves 32 and 32a of the bit. Each half ofthe bit 30' is provided with a cone cutter mounting or carrier, that associated with the half 32' being designated by the reference character 33 and that associated with bit half 32a being designated by the character 33a.

The precise construction of the cone carrier'is familiar to those skilled in the art of earth boring and it is not deemed necessary to be fully described herein. A lubricant passageway 34 extends upwardly from the end of the cone carrier 33 to the upper end of a stem 35 formed upon the head 29 of the bit 30. A similar lubricant passageway 34 (see Figure 4) is provided for the bit halfsz Each of the halves 32 and 32 of the bit 30 is also provided with conduits for the passage of flushing fluid therethrough. Two of these flushing fluid passages are illustrated for each of the bit halves. The bit half 32 is illustrated as having a flushing fluid conduit 36 passing vertically therethrough on one side of the center line of this path, while a second conduit 37 is illustrated as being provided at acorresponding position upon the opposite side of the center line of this half of the bit. It will be observed that the location of the end of the conduits 36 and 3'7 is such that fluid passing through either of these conduits is projected partially upon the cone which is mounted upon the carrier 33 while the remainderof the fluid is directed downwardlyto the bottom of the earth bore so as to clean both the cone and the bottom of the bore. By providing two of these wash pipes or flushing fluid conduits one on each side of 'the' cone carrier, the bit and the bore are effectively cleanedboth prior to entry of the cutter into the face of the bore and after it has made the cut.

The conduits 36 and 37 are illustrated as comprising a bored opening 38 extending longitudinally of the bit half and terminating at the lower face of the bit half with a bore of slightly reduced diameter thus permitting a pipe 39 to be inserted in the bore 38 to act as a liner for the bore. The lower end of the pipe terminates at a shoulder 40 constituting the juncture of the smaller bore with the larger.

The pipe 39' may be secured in the bore in any suitable manner, though I prefer to thread this pipe into the bore as by providing suitable threads 41 near the upper end of the bore to engage corresponding threads upon the pipe 39. The upper end of the pipe 42 is preferably formed square or hexagonal to permit engagement thereof by a suitable wrench required to tighten the pipe in the bore in assembling the structure.

The second half 32 of the bit 30 is illustrated as being provided with similar conduits 36 and 3'7 which perform similar functions for this bit half.

It will be observed that from the construction of the bit halves thus described, the upper end of each of the bit halves forms a pair of semicylindrical portions, one of which constitutes onehalf of the bit head 28 and the other of which forms one-half of the extending stem 35 so that the assembled structure provides a completely cylindrical bit head 29 and an extending stem 35 formed thereon.

If desired, means to prevent relative movement of the two halves 32 and 32 may be employed, such as a rectangular key 43, while suitable bolts 44 may be provided to secure the two halves of the bit 30 together.

The operation of the assembly just described is as follows:

The reamers 18 may be assembled as herein described in the pockets 4, 5, and 6, the shafts 13 therefor being suitably screwed down and pinned inin place by means of pins 17. The reamer carrier assembly may then be attached to the rock bit assembly 30 by screwing the head 29 into the threaded portion 28 of the interior openings 27. It is assumd that the cone cutters employed on the bit 30 are in place and at this point the lubricant conduit 26 may be inserted through the interior opening 2 in the body member 1 and secured by means of a suitable coupling, not shown,

to the extending stem 35 of the rock bit 30. The upper end of the body member 1 may be then secured to the drill string or to the power appliance and lowered into cutting position in the bore which is to be driven.

The flushing fluid may be passed through the drill string in the well-known manner to communicate with the interior passage 2 of the body member 1, from whence the flushing fluid will pass through the openings 24, 25 and 26 which lie outside 01"; the lubricant conduit 23. The flushing fluid will pass to the top of the head 29 of the bit 30 and thence pass through the pipe sections 36, 37, 36 and 3'7 to the strata which is to be bored by the cone cutters.

While the construction illustrated and described herein is particularly adapted to a fabricated method of construction, as by forming the body member 1 of a cylindrical blank and milling the reamer pockets therein with the further steps of welding the reamer bearing blocks '7 and 8 in the milled opening and further welding the backing plate or sealing plate 22 to the blocks 7 and 8, it will also be understood that the construction also is adapted to the casting process wherein the reamer pockets 4, 5 and 6 may be directly cast into the body member 1.

It will be apparent that many changes from the precise construction shown herein may be made and I therefore do not desire to be limited to any of the details shown herein, except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a rock bit and reamer assembly, a cylindrical body member having a central passage therethrough and having recessed therein a plurality of reamer pockets communicating with said central passage, reamer bearing blocks secured in said pockets, interior plates secured to said blocks and said body member to seal the pockets from said central passage, a reamer rotatably mounted in each pocket, and a rock bit threaded into one end of said body member, said bit having one or more lubricant passages communicating with a stem projecting into the central passage and also having one or more water passages communicating with the central passage outside said stem, a lubricant pipe secured on said stem and of such size as to be tangent to the inner faces of the interior plates to form water passages between the pipe, the plates and the portions of the cylindrical wall of the passage lying between the plates.

2. In a rock bit and reamer assembly, a cylindrical body member having a central passage therethrough and having recessed therein a plurality of reamer pockets communicating with said central passage, reamer bearing blocks secured in said pockets and interior plates secured to said blocks and said body member to seal the pockets from said central passage, a reamer rotatably mounted in each pocket, a rock bit threaded into one end of said body member, said bit having a pair of cone cutter bearings thereon, a lubricant passage extending through each cutter bearing and communicating with a stem projecting into the central passage in the body member, said bit also having one or more water passages therethrough communicating with said central passage independent of said stem, and a lubricant pipe secured on said stem extending upwardly into said central passage and contacting with said plates, said pipe being of such size as to be tangent to the interior plates to form water passages between the pipe and the portions of the cylinder lying between the plates.

3. An article of manufacture comprising a reamer formed with a cylindrical body member having a circular cross sectional central bore extending longitudinally therethrough, a lubricant pipe passing through said bore, a plurality of reamer pockets extending radially through the walls of said body member into communication with said central bore, reamer cutter bearing blocks secured at the longitudinal ends of each of said pockets, a flat plate secured to the bearing blocks in each pocket to seal that pocket from communication with said central bore and to contact tangentially with the surface of a lubricating pipe passed through saidfcentral bore to divide the space between such lubricating pipe and the walls of said body member into a plurality of fluid passages.

ARTHUR F. SPENGLER. 

